Jeremy Meath
Jeremy Meath is a member of the Toronto Council and the husband of Sandra Duchamp. He worships the Greek God Dionysus and is the current High Priest after he replaced his mentor. A one-time competitor for the title of Lord of Toronto, at the request of his wife, he spurs the events that befall Toronto by manipulating the council into learning Blake Thorburn had a heritage as a Diabolist. Appearance While short in his youth, he grows to be tall, rumpled, faintly wrinkled, and plain looking man later in life, with too much beard and circles under his eyes, perpetually weary.The bottle was the first thing to catch her eye. His clothes were the second. Rumpled, a gray flannel shirt over another shirt, jeans with the bottoms of the pant legs in tatters, over brown boots with gray dirt layered over the badly scuffed toe. His dark hair was unwashed and long, his face unshaven, and not unshaven in a calculated way. His neck was hairy. ... - Excerpt from Interlude 3 Personality Jeremy was an ambitious man in his youth, but by the time the story begins he seems to be in a slouch after failing to take Conquest's position. One of whom were responsible for this defeat was Isadora. That being said, he still aspires for it. He acts rather calm or inebriated, but there is a note of maliciousness towards Blake upon their second meeting. History Before When Jeremy was younger and part of a group of others, he was approached by a man named Nathan who offered them free alcohol in exchange for a joint, which started a party. Jeremy wasn't as inebriated and so he noticed that the guests that Nathan had brought weren't completely human. Nathan talked to him and convinced him to become an initiate of Dionysus. Later on, he decided to claim a condo as his demesne, to which Nathan claimed he wasn't ready. He made his pledge and earned his god's favor, taking Nathan's place as the High Priest. Nathan left as the first of the challengers arrive, Diana Thompson and her mentor, Doug, who challenged him to a board game. Dionysus granted him insight into winning and they departed when Isadora arrived. He insisted on a combat challenge towards the Sphinx, who consented with stipulations, and Dionysus bequeathed him with a scepter tipped with a pine cone and a horn of strong alcohol and blood that sent him into a haze. When he came out of it he found Isadora injured with him bleeding as well, and the Sphinx offered not to contest his formation of the demesne as long as he agreed to a meeting with the Duchamp Coven, which led to his marriage to Sandra Duchamp. At some point after this he began amassing power to take the role of Lord from Conquest, offering favors here and there, such as when one of the Sisters of the Torch wanted a baby, he delivered. He also baited the Astrologer into falling in lust with something more spirit than person, which angered her. He also started collecting more vicious things to keep in reserve. Since then he had lost most of his ambition and remained drunk. His marriage with Sandra Duchamp ended when Dionysus altered the ancient magic that made it so that the Duchamps only gave birth to women, so that he would have a son. Toronto Arc When the series proper began Sandra asked him to ensure that Blake Thorburn did not return to Jacob's Bell and he used the knowledge she provided to out him as a Diabolist. He stayed out of the contest and remained neutral, and after Conquest was bound, he revealed that he may make another play for the position of Lord, but he's waiting because the current circumstances aren't ideal. He arrives in Jacob's Bell at Sandra's request with several of his Nymphs and the Ibix Siblings. There he asks Johannes Lillegard for safe passage through his domain, which he consents to under certain stipulations, before going to meet with Sandra herself who asks that he deals with the Thorburn Family. Jacob's Bell Lordship Arc Sandra and Jeremy walk down a sidewalk while discussing the impending assault on the Hillglades House, unaware that Blake Thorburn is watching. She tells him not to cause any chaos for the time being, just enough pressure to get things done and to keep an eye out for the "mirror-dweller". If asks for more information, but she tells him to barter with Johannes before they parted. Blake noted he forced himself to sound enthusiastic as he and his allies left, intent on calling Dionysus to break through the protections of the house. When he arrives after doing so, he tells the others to find where they are in exchange for a treat when Blake attacked the lead Maenad, Kakia, and gutted her pet snake. This angered her into chasing after him outside the mirror and he lured her into almost attacking Jeremy, only for it to narrow fail because her loyalty was greater than her anger. Jeremy then took over and warned him about crossing a god by killing the snake, as it was a gift to her from his god, and then demanded to know who Blake was. Blake revealed he set Conquest on him, and warned him not to go any further because there was a demon inside the house and he ran the risk of setting it free. Jeremy tried to get the answer by inciting the rule of three by asking three times, but Blake makes it clear they are in a warped space he cannot find on his own. Jeremy then tells Blake that because of his favor by Dionysus, Rose would be in a state similar to being drunk once she woke up, which was a risk none of them could take given if she said one wrong word then she could call down a demon. Blake distracted them and tried to get to the room, finding the bookcase ajar, only for something to break his mirror and shunt him away. It left him unable to do anything as Jeremy and the Others with him found the rest of his friends unconscious and helpless. Jeremy then brokered a deal that he would leave them unharmed if they helped him bind Blake before leaving. Jeremy is later with Sandra at the lakeside when Molly sics the Others on them and his group defended him. When they retreated Blake pursued them and killed one of the Maenad attacking him, leading to Jeremy to have him surrounded and prepare to kill him. He then tells him that he has no intention of going after his friends or family afterwards and they have a discussion about the Duchamp family and how he always intended to be a good lord of Toronto. Sandra arrives in time to tell him to step back before Green Eyes emerges from the snow, ready to bite his groin off, leaving them at a standstill until Blake calls her off. He then turns on his wife and tells her he loves her. Jeremy enters into an alliance with Blake on the premise that he doesn't inflict any permanent harm on members of the Duchamps short of self-defense and offers him the aid of some of his group, explaining that he wasn't going to challenge Sandra on a good day, and informing him about the Ritchie Brothers, who he finds distasteful enough to want to kill. Later on, after the matter with Sandra was settled, Jeremy loaned Blake and Rose the aid of his Maenad and Satyr before warning him not to get them killed, and then leaving to the Hillglades House. There he intended to make a deal with Johannes, but after Blake reveals that because the Hillglades House is sinking and with their collective consent they would all fall with it if they went through with the deal, Faysal drags it into the Abyss and Barbatorem is set loose. There he and the others try to escape, with Jeremy calling upon Dionysus to smite Barbatorem and reforge the pillar that they were on. The smiting only stunned the demon for a time, and he would have been killed had Alister been any slower in pulling him away. Judgement In the Judgement arc, he remained one of the few practitioners unaffected by the demon of the choir of madness due to him being a priest of a god of madness and was able to render others insensate by offering his demesne for Dionysus to let it be overrun, thus spreading enough immunity around for the others to mount a proper defense. Abilities Being a priest, Jeremy's power comes from his god, Dionysus. He does things to earn said gods good graces, such as worshiping him, and the god replies by granting him favors a certain amount of times. This means that if he earns his god's disfavor then he can end up in a position where he is almost powerless, or if he asks for more than he has a right to then he can be punished. He cannot shape what comes about personally. He also has a level of immunity to the effects of madness. Basics * Jeremy has a demesne. Trivia *While he is separated from his wife they have not divorced and as such are still legally married. Category:Practitioners Category:Characters